1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) rental systems and methods, and more specifically, to a DVD rental system and method for recording video and sound on a DVD, and lending the DVD to a user.
2. Description of the Background Art
To distribute DVDs with video recorded thereon, the following two methods have been mainly utilized.
One is selling such DVDs each at an appropriate price. This is similar to selling music CDs and video-recorded cassettes.
The other is lending the DVDs through video-rental shops often found in cities. In this case, similarly to video-cassette rental, the video-rental shop sets a rental fee in advance for each DVD. This fee is calculated based on a value of the video recorded on the DVD and a rental period. A user rents a DVD from a video-rental shop, and, in turn, pays the fee set in the above-described manner to the rental shop.
Conventionally, there have been two types of DVDs: read-only DVD-ROMs (DVDs are generally referred to these DVD-ROMs) and readable/writable DVD-RAMs.
On the other hand, apparatuses for playing-back video recorded on DVDs are typified by DVD players, such as DVD-A700, and computer apparatuses incorporated with a DVD-ROM drive, such as LK-RV8171DZ, both manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Apparatuses for recording video on DVDs are typified by computer apparatuses incorporated with a DVD-RAM drive, such as LF-D102JD, also manufactured by the same company.
In conventional ground wave broadcasting, a broadcast station broadcasts commercial messages (CM) between programs, and collects advertising fees from advertisers. That is, the ground wave broadcasting service conventionally has its financial source in advertising revenues from advertisers. Therefore, viewers can view programs for free of charge.
In the conventional DVD rental method, however, as stated above, users who rent the DVD have to bear all costs for the value of the video recorded on the DVDs.
Some video cassettes and DVDs for rental have movie previews and CMs for a variety of merchandise and services recorded thereon before and/or after the main video such as a movie.
Such CMs may have some advertising effectiveness immediately after the video cassettes and DVDs are released for rental. However, such advertising effectiveness will fade away with time. For some CMs, their effectiveness completely disappears even a single day after a specific day passes.
As such, in the conventional DVD rental method, the advertising effectiveness of the CMs recorded on the rental DVDs does not last long. Therefore, rental shops or DVD software providers cannot collect sufficient advertising revenues from advertisers. In other words, with the conventional DVDs, DVD recording apparatuses, and DVD players, CMs recorded on DVDs for rental cannot be highly-effective.
Therefore, conventionally, video-rental shops, as lenders, have no other choice but to charge the user, as renters, for almost all of the cost of the value of the video recorded on the DVD as a rental fee.
If advertising fees can be increased enough to sufficiently reduce the rental fee, the number of video-rental users will be greatly increased. Also, the sales of DVD-related equipment such as DVD players are expected to be greatly promoted, accordingly.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a DVD rental system and method that can have a user (renter) view video and sound recorded on a DVD together with CMs with high advertising effectiveness and, as a result, can sufficiently reduce a rental fee to be charged to the user.
The present invention has the following features to achieve the object above.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a DVD rental system for recording software on a DVD and lending the DVD, comprising:
the DVD;
a lender DVD apparatus; and
a user DVD apparatus, the DVD including
a read-only ROM area with the software previously recorded therein, and
a readable/writable RAM area,
the lender DVD apparatus including write means for writing a control program in the RAM area of the DVD to be rented, and
the user DVD apparatus including
read means for reading the control program from the RAM area of the DVD, and
control means for carrying out control by following the control program read by the read means, thereby achieving on the user DVD apparatus an environment for a predetermined operation when the software is read from the ROM area of the DVD.
In the above first aspect, the control program with the operation to be carried out by the user DVD apparatus written therein is recorded in the RAM area of the DVD, and provided to the user DVD apparatus. Thus, the lender can make the user DVD apparatus carry out the operation the lender desires.
For example, when the user uses the software recorded in the DVD, the user DVD apparatus is made to obtain CMs from the digital broadcasting and lets the user view the CMs. Unlike CMs recorded in advance in the DVD, the CMs obtained from the digital broadcasting always have advertising effectiveness. Thus, the lender can collect more advertising fees from a third party and, in turn, can reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
Furthermore, the user DVD apparatus is also made to carry out operation of generating history data indicating how many times and which CM has been played-back, and writing the generated history data in the RAM area. By referring to the history data, the lender can recognize the history of the CM playback operations carried out by the user DVD apparatus. Therefore, the lender can pay back the amount according to the CM viewing history records (how many times and which CM has been viewed) to the user. Also, the lender can sum up the CM viewing history records of all users, provide the summed-up result to a third party (advertiser, advertising agency, etc.), and collect the paid-back amount from the third party.
A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a DVD rental system for recording video and/or sound on a DVD and lending the DVD, comprising:
the DVD;
a lender DVD apparatus; and
a user DVD apparatus,
the DVD including
a read-only ROM area with the video and/or sound previously recorded thereon, and
a readable/writable RAM area,
the lender DVD apparatus including
a first DVD write part for writing in the RAM area,
a second DVD read part for reading from the RAM area,
a write/read controller for controlling the first DVD write part and the first DVD read part, and
a playback/recording control program storage for storing a playback/recording control program for the user DVD apparatus to carry out a predetermined playback/recording operation,
the user DVD apparatus including
a second DVD write part for writing in the RAM area,
a second DVD read part for reading from the RAM area and the ROM area,
a digital broadcasting tuner for receiving digital broadcasting, and
a playback/recording controller for controlling the second DVD write part, the second DVD read part, and the digital broadcasting tuner,
the write/read controller controlling the first DVD write part to write the playback/recording control program in the RAM area of the DVD,
the playback/recording controller
controlling the second DVD read part to read the playback/recording control program from the RAM area of the DVD, and
controlling, by following the read playback/recording control program, the second DVD write part, the second DVD read part, and the digital broadcasting tuner,
thereby achieving on the user DVD apparatus an environment for a playback/recording operation including
receiving digital broadcasting and extracting a CM therefrom,
writing the extracted CM in the RAM area,
reading the video and/or sound from the ROM area of the DVD and the CM from the RAM area thereof in each predetermined timing for playback, and
generating history data indicating how many times and which CM has been played-back and writing the history data in the RAM area, and
the write/read controller further controlling the first DVD read part to read the history data from the RAM area of the returned DVD.
In the above second aspect, the playback/recording control program is recorded in the RAM area of the DVD, and then provided to the user DVD apparatus. Thus, the user DVD apparatus is made to carry out the above playback/recording operation.
Unlike CMs recorded in advance in the DVD, the CMs obtained from the digital broadcasting always have advertising effectiveness. Thus, the lender can collect more advertising fees from a third party and, in turn, can reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
Furthermore, the user DVD apparatus is also made to carry out operation of generating history data indicating how many times and which CM has been played-back, and writing the generated history data in the RAM area. By referring to the history data, the lender can recognize the history of the CM playback operations carried out by the user DVD apparatus. Therefore, the lender can pay back the amount according to the CM viewing history records (how many times and which CM has been viewed) to the user. Also, the lender can sum up the CM viewing history records of all users, provide the summed-up result to a third party (advertiser, advertising agency, etc.), and collect the paid-back amount from the third party.
According to a third aspect, in the second aspect,
the write/read controller adds personal data of the user to the playback/recording control program to be written in the RAM area, and
the playback/recording controller selects the CM to be extracted based on the personal data when receiving the digital broadcasting and extracting the CM therefrom.
In the above third aspect, based on the user""s personal data indicating sex, age, hobbies, preferences, etc., CMs suitable for the user and also advertising-effective for the lender are selected for viewing. Therefore, the lender can collect more advertising fees from the third party and, in turn, can greatly reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is directed to a lender DVD apparatus used in a DVD rental system for recording video and/or sound on a DVD and lending the DVD,
the DVD including
a read-only ROM area with the video and/or sound previously recorded thereon, and
a readable/writable RAM area,
the lender DVD apparatus including
a DVD write part for writing in the RAM area,
a DVD read part for reading from the RAM area,
a write/read controller for controlling the DVD write part and the DVD read part, and
a playback/recording control program storage for storing a playback/recording control program for a user DVD apparatus to carry out a predetermined playback/recording operation,
the write/read controller controlling the DVD write part to write the playback/recording control program in the RAM area of the DVD, thereby achieving on the user DVD apparatus an environment for a playback/recording operation including
receiving digital broadcasting and extracting a CM therefrom,
writing the extracted CM in the RAM area,
reading the video and/or sound from the ROM area of the DVD and a CM from the RAM area thereof in each predetermined timing for playback, and
generating history data indicating how many times and which CM has been played-back and writing the history data in the RAM area, and
the write/read controller further controlling the DVD read part to read the history data from the RAM area of the returned DVD.
In the above fourth aspect, the playback/recording control program is recorded in the RAM area of the DVD, and then provided to the user DVD apparatus. Thus, the user DVD apparatus is made to carry out the above playback/recording operation.
Unlike CMs recorded in advance in the DVD, the CMs obtained from the digital broadcasting always have advertising effectiveness. Thus, the lender can collect more advertising fees from a third party and, in turn, can reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
Furthermore, by referring to the history data, the lender can recognize the history of the CM playback operations carried out by the user DVD apparatus. Therefore, the lender can pay back the amount according to the CM viewing history records (how many times and which CM has been viewed) to the user. Also, the lender can sum up the CM viewing history records of all users, provide the summed-up result to a third party (advertiser, advertising agency, etc.), and collect the paid-back amount from the third party.
According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect,
the write/read controller adds personal data of a user to the playback/recording control program to be written in the RAM area,
thereby achieving in the user DVD apparatus an environment for a playback/recording operation in which the digital broadcasting is received and the CM to be extracted is selected based on the personal data.
In the above fifth aspect, based on the user""s personal data indicating sex, age, hobbies, preferences, etc., CMs suitable for the user and also advertising-effective for the lender are selected for viewing. Therefore, the lender can collect more advertising fees from the third party and, in turn, can greatly reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is directed to a user DVD apparatus used in a DVD rental system for recording video and/or sound on a DVD and lending the DVD,
the DVD including
a read-only ROM area with the video and/or sound previously recorded therein, and
a readable/writable RAM area with a playback/recording control program recorded thereon at the time of lending,
the user DVD apparatus including
a DVD write part for writing in the RAM area,
a DVD read part for reading from the RAM area and the ROM area,
a digital broadcasting tuner for receiving digital broadcasting, and
a playback recording controller for controlling the DVD write part, the DVD read part, and the digital broadcasting tuner,
the playback/recording controller
controlling the DVD read part to read the playback/recording control program from the RAM area of the DVD, and
controlling, by following the read playback/recording control program, the DVD write part, the DVD read part, and the digital broadcasting tuner,
thereby achieving on the user DVD apparatus an environment for a playback/recording operation including
receiving digital broadcasting and extracting a CM therefrom,
writing the extracted CM in the RAM area,
reading the video and/or sound from the ROM area of the DVD and the CM from the RAM area thereof in each predetermined timing for playback, and
generating history data indicating how many times and which CM has been reproduced and writing the history data in the RAM area.
In the above sixth aspect, the playback/recording control program is recorded in the RAM area of the DVD, and then provided to the user DVD apparatus. Following the program, the user DVD apparatus is made to carry out the above playback/recording operation.
Unlike CMs recorded in advance in the DVD, the CMs obtained from the digital broadcasting always have advertising effectiveness. Thus, the lender can collect more advertising fees from a third party and, in turn, can reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
Furthermore, by referring to the history data, the lender can recognize the history of the CM playback operations carried out by the user DVD apparatus. Therefore, the lender can pay back the amount according to the CM viewing history records (how many times and which CM has been viewed) to the user. Also, the lender can sum up the CM viewing history records of all users, provide the summed-up result to a third party (advertiser, advertising agency, etc.), and collect the paid-back amount from the third party.
According to a seventh aspect, in the sixth aspect,
personal data of a user is added to the playback/recording control program written in the RAM area, and
the playback/recording controller achieves an environment for a playback/recording operation of selecting the CM to be extracted based on the personal data.
In the above seventh aspect, based on the user""s personal data indicating sex, age, hobbies, preferences, etc., CMs suitable for the user and also advertising-effective for the lender are selected for viewing. Therefore, the lender can collect more advertising fees from the third party and, in turn, can greatly reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
An eighth aspect of the present invention is directed to a recording medium on which a playback/recording control program is recorded, the playback/recording control program to be executed in a user DVD apparatus used in a DVD rental system for recording video and/or sound on a DVD and lending the DVD,
the DVD including
a read-only ROM area with the video and/or sound previously recorded thereon, and
a readable/writable RAM area in which the playback/recording control program is written at the time of lending,
the playback/recording control program for achieving on the user DVD apparatus an environment for a playback/recording operation including the steps of:
receiving digital broadcasting and extracting a CM therefrom;
reading the video and/or sound from the ROM area and the CM from the RAM area in each predetermined timing for playback, and
generating history data indicating how many times and which CM is played-back and writing the history data in the RAM area.
In the above eighth aspect, the playback/recording control program recorded in the recording medium is read therefrom, recorded in the RAM area of the DVD, and then provided to the user DVD apparatus. Following the program, the user DVD apparatus is made to carry out the above playback/recording operation.
Unlike CMs recorded in advance in the DVD, the CMs obtained from the digital broadcasting always have advertising effectiveness. Thus, the lender can collect more advertising fees from a third party and, in turn, can reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
Furthermore, by referring to the history data, the lender can recognize the history of the CM playback operations carried out by the user DVD apparatus. Therefore, the lender can pay back the amount according to the CM viewing history records (how many times and which CM has been viewed) to the user. Also, the lender can sum up the CM viewing history records of all users, provide the summed-up result to a third party (advertiser, advertising agency, etc.), and collect the paid-back amount from the third party.
According to a ninth aspect, in the eighth aspect,
personal data of a user is further written in the RAM area at the time of lending, and
in the extracting step, the CM to be extracted is selected based on the personal data.
In the above ninth aspect, based on the user""s personal data indicating sex, age, hobbies, preferences, etc., CMs suitable for the user and also advertising-effective for the lender are selected for viewing. Therefore, the lender can collect more advertising fees from the third party and, in turn, can greatly reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is directed to a DVD rental method for recording video and/or sound on a DVD and lending the DVD,
the DVD including
a read-only ROM area with the video and/or sound previously recorded therein, and
a readable/writable RAM area, wherein
a lender writes, in the RAM area of the DVD to be rented, a playback/recording control program for making a DVD apparatus for a user to carry out a predetermined playback/recording operation,
the user pays a fee for a value of the video and/or sound to the lender,
the DVD apparatus for the user
reads the playback/recording control program from the RAM area of the DVD, and
by following the read play-recording/control program, carries out the playback/recording operation including
receiving digital broadcasting and extracting a CM therefrom,
writing the extracted CM in the RAM area,
reading the video and/or sound from the ROM area of the DVD and the CM from the RAM area thereof in each predetermined timing for playback, and
generating history data indicating how many times and which CM has been played-back and writing the history data in the RAM area, and
when the DVD is returned from the user, the lender
reading the history data from the RAM area of the DVD,
paying an amount to the lender by referring to CM playback history, and
providing the history data to a third party and charging the third party for the history data to collect the fee paid to the user.
In the above tenth aspect, the playback/recording control program is recorded in the RAM area of the DVD, and then provided to the user DVD apparatus. Thus, the user DVD apparatus is made to carry out the above playback/recording operation.
Unlike CMs recorded in advance in the DVD, the CMs obtained from the digital broadcasting always have advertising effectiveness. Thus, the lender can collect more advertising fees from a third party and, in turn, can reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.
Furthermore, by referring to the history data, the lender can recognize the history of the CM playback operations carried out by the user DVD apparatus. Therefore, the lender can pay back the amount according to the CM viewing history records (how many times and which CM has been viewed) to the user. Also, the lender can sum up the CM viewing history records of all users, provide the summed-up result to a third party (advertiser, advertising agency, etc.), and collect the paid-back amount from the third party.
According to an eleventh aspect, in the tenth aspect,
the lender adds personal data of the user to the playback/recording control program to be written in the RAM area, and
the DVD apparatus for the user selects a CM to be extracted based on the personal data.
In the above eleventh aspect, based on the user""s personal data indicating sex, age, hobbies, preferences, etc., CMs suitable for the user and also advertising-effective for the lender are selected for viewing. Therefore, the lender can collect more advertising fees from the third party and, in turn, can greatly reduce the rental fee to be charged to the user.